NSCA’S Essentials of Personal Training

NSCA’S Essentials of Personal Training is a textbook for anyone preparing for NSCA personal trainer certification (one of the best personal trainer certification) as well as a reference book for certified fitness trainers and kinesiology students. It is not a thin book and not the easiest read but it is one of the most comprehensive textbooks in the personal training field. The manual presents a great deal of research-backed data as well as loads of practical information.

The textbook is very technical so it takes a lot of time becoming familiar with all the different terms. For that reason, it is a better read for someone who already has had an introduction to exercise science, kinesiology, nutrition and human biology, etc. The manual is over 650 pages long. It starts with the scientific background and fundamentals before moving onto exercise technique and programming. Each chapter is written by one or more experts on that area, and contains 4 multiple-choice study questions, which approximate the difficulty of the NSCA exam.

The textbook covers all aspects of personal training, including foundational information about exercise science and human anatomy, and other areas such as special populations, plyometrics, exercise techniques, and the specifics of programming, etc. This book provides both in-depth theoretical information and the practical information to use with an actual client. Therefore, it makes a great asset to a professional personal trainer.

Cons:

The book very informative but not easy read for someone new in the field.

It is meant for NSCA-CPT test preparation but some of the material on the exam is not covered in the textbook.

The book would benefit from some improvements in its organization and from more than 4 multiple-choice questions.

Pros:

This manual is more in depth than any other book about personal training.

The textbook provides a lot of research-backed theoretical and practical information.

The book provides a great deal of visual information – pictures, graphics, tables.

The Bottom Line:

All-in-all NSCA’S Essentials of Personal Training is a must have book for a professional personal trainer.